It was lights, camera, action for Hilltop Films in the Marty Theater Monday evening, as Hilltop films premiered “Remnants of You,” a short film they worked all semester to produce.
“Remants of You” revolves around Casper, a young man dealing with the grief of losing his best friend, Blair.
“The main character loses his best friend and starts seeing her again at a point where he thinks he’s moved on,” Cameron Paul, junior media productions major and Hilltop Films head editor, said. “He struggles with those feelings of, ‘Do I still love her? Have I moved on?’ So it’s really a story of loss and moving through life with it.”
The idea for the film came from Christian Pederson, Hilltop Films’ vice president and junior animation major, who wanted to write a script about grief and moving forward.
And that’s what he did with “Remnants of You.”
“Sometimes I just have random ideas in my head, and I write them down,” Pederson said. “Once I have an idea, it starts snowballing, creating more ideas, and then the script forms.”
Once the script was finalized, Hilltop Films got together to find a cast that could turn Pederson’s idea into a reality.
“One of my favorite things is being able to share this love of film and show people what we make,” Paul said. “Having them enjoy it in the same ways we enjoy it is a great way to connect with the community.”
“Remnants of You” is just the latest Hilltop Films production. Students have been producing short films on campus for years, and recent projects have earned the club its flowers.
This past weekend, Hilltop Films attended the Big Picture Peoria Film Festival, taking home the People’s Choice Award for “Nocturnal,” a film they made last semester.
“It was the craziest thing ever to actually get into a film festival in the first place, but we ended up winning the People’s Choice Award,” Pederson said. “To see my work not only get recognized but also get rewarded, it was amazing.”
Hilltop Films looks forward to building off of this success and continuing to grow as an organization.
“We didn’t have a lot of people show up to our premieres when I was [a] sophomore, but ever since, we’ve been getting more, and the support is amazing,” Breanna Watermolen, senior psychology and criminology major and Hilltop Films president, said. “So being able to show these short films and show everyone’s work, it just means a lot.”
If you missed the premiere of “Remnants of You,” or if you made it and enjoyed what you saw, check out Hilltop Films’ work on YouTube.
